Guiding Souls
by windfalcon
Summary: The Shiki Fujin went a bit differently than what the Yondaime had planned. Watch how Naruto benefits from this foul up, and just how this effects his goal! [No Pairings Yet] [Seeking prereaders!]
1. Three Souls, Two Blonds, One Goal

Disclaimer: The only one who owns Naruto is the creator, as such please don't sue me cause I barely have enough for lunch each week . Damn minimum wage...

Three Souls, Two Blonds, One Goal

After officially graduating and a bowl or ten of Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto found himself unable to sleep as he lay in the bed of his rundown apartment. The events of the night before came crashing down on him... learning why the entire village hated him from a traitorous sensei, learning a skill he was sure no one else short of a High Leveled Chuunin could accomplish, becoming accepted by the teacher he thought had hated him... everything left Naruto's mind churning. The one thing that really kept him awake.. was the puzzle known as Kyuubi.

_'Why did it attack Konoha? Why did the Fourth seal it in a baby instead of killing it? Why did he seal it in me?'_ these three questions kept spiraling in his mind, one after another. _'I guess.. the only ones who really know are the Fourth and the Kyuubi... but... the Fourth is dead. There's no way I can ask him, obviously. So... if I can't ask him... will I be able to ask Kyuubi?'_ Frowning, Naruto looked down at his stomach and glared at it, as if willing the offending body part to suddenly sprout the demon fox somehow so he could talk to it. After a few moments, though, Naruto sighed and laid his head back against his pillow. _'Guess not... Probably for the best... wouldn't want to... talk to the... damn... fur ball... any...'_ Finally, the events of the day caught up to Naruto, sending him into a sweet state of oblivion.

_Loud, roaring laughter shook Naruto awake,causing him to bolt upright from his position on the ground. _'Wait... ground?'_ Looking around, Naruto found himself in what appeared to be a large sewer of some kind. "W...where am I?" the boy wondered aloud. Taking a moment to swallow and get his bearings, the boy stood up and, after hearing another bout of roaring laughter, followed by a crash, he decided to investigate. _

_Eventually, Naruto found himself standing before a large cage with an ofuda strip attached at its center with the word 'Seal' printed on it. The source of the laughter was obviously behind the sealed cage. _'S... something huge must be behind there...'_ he thought to himself as he hesitantly edged closer. In the back of the cage, he could make out what appeared to be a large, glowing window that displayed a familiar scene. On it, surrounded by grass and dripping blood from his swollen mouth, was the face of a badly beaten Mizuki. At first, Naruto was shocked... then curious... but the longer he looked at the beaten face, the harder it got for him to keep a straight face. All too soon, he was on the ground, holding his sides and adding to the roaring laughter._

_By the time Naruto and the unknown being recovered from their fit of hysterics, the blond shinobi felt, more than heard, the being behind the cage make its way towards him. Sitting up, Naruto was suddenly aware of a feeling of... companionship. That whatever was behind the cage might be a kindred spirit. _'If whoever this is thought the look on Mizuki-baka's face was hilarious too, they can't be all THAT bad... right?'_ Of course... these thoughts soon fell quiet as he caught sight of a pair of large, red slit eyes glowing in the darkness of the cage, staring down at Naruto with curiosity. _

"_**So... a damn fur ball, am I?"** chuckled a deep, growling voice that caused the very air around Naruto to shiver from the reverberating base. It wasn't angry... but neither was it friendly. It was the kind of tone an adult would take on when a child or a new recruit would say something out of turn without realizing it. Forgiving and condescending all at once. **"So you must be my vessel... shame you have to be so damned short, kit."**_

_Suddenly standing up in shock, Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly realized who it was behind the cage. Pointing right between the glowing red eyes, Naruto swallowed. "Y...YOU! You're the Kyuubi, aren't you! W... Well you ARE a damned fur ball! It's because of you I'm hated! It's because of you I don't have any friends! I can't shop anywhere without being kicked out or overcharged! I have to live in a crappy apartment complex alone because everywhere else would rather burn down their homes instead of have me living there! It's because of you I don't have a family! Everything bad in my life is ALL YOUR FAULT!" Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes as he glared at the Kyuubi, panting for breath as he had let out over 10 years of repressed emotion out in the span of a minute._

_All was quiet as the Kyuubi merely waited patiently. As he did, the screen at the back of the cage began to flip quickly through the myriad of memories Naruto had growing up, faster than a normal person could watch or comprehend. The only constant that one could even glimpse were the cold, angry eyes that everyone seemed to hold towards the viewer. Finally, the screen blackened, leaving the only light in the cage to be the glowing red eyes of the fox demon. **"Finished?" **Kyuubi finally asked, his form slowly shifting in the dark. After Naruto nods, the demon fox sighs. **"I'm sorry." **the demon said as he stepped into the light, revealing his altered form._

_Naruto's only reaction was utter and complete shock. Standing there before him was a face he had seen just recently... It was different, sure... after all, there is a difference between seen a face carved into a mountain and seeing the real thing before your eyes. Yondaime Hokage, the man who sealed the Kyuubi into him 12 years ago, stood behind the cage. Only... from what he had seen from an old picture in the Hokage's office, the Yondaime had blond hair and blue eyes. The figure before Naruto now had the same, glowing red eyes as before, looking completely unnatural on any human. His hair, too, was different, sporting crimson streaks and tips that looked as if they had been dipped in blood. Six whisker marks, similar to Naruto's own, streaked across his cheeks, only far more pronounced and made it appear as if one could reach out and pluck one. The real difference, though.. were the nine red fox tails that spread out behind the figure, waving slightly in the air but always kept in sight. "Y... you! W-Why do you look like Yondaime? And why's a demon apologizing!" Naruto's voice was filled with confusion and shock instead of any anger._

_The look on Naruto's face, mouth hanging open in surprise, eyes wide in disbelief and body shivering like a leaf in a summer breeze, caused the Kyuubi to smirk... then snicker... until finally, he was leaning heavily on the bars of his cage, laughing in that same roaring way as before. **"The... the look on your face! Priceless! Absolutely priceless!"** he cried, falling onto his back and clutching his sides in an attempt to alleviate the pain he felt. **"You look like Iruka after you pulled the Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) on him!"** _

_Blinking, Naruto closed his mouth and growled at the laughing Kyuubi. "OI! No one laughs at Uzumaki Naruto and gets away with it! How the hell do you know about that anyway! And why do you look like the Yondaime!" Seeing the human-like kitsune still rolling on the ground caused Naruto to frown and turn away indignantly. "Stupid fur ball..."_

_The Yondaime-kitsune finally calmed down after a while and sat back up, sighing as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. **"Sorry bout that kit, it was just too much to pass up. Now then... Yes, I am the Kyuubi... but at the same time, I'm not. No questions till the end." **The Kyuubi said, holding a clawed hand up to stop Naruto from speaking. **"The reason I say this is the answer to your next question... I am Kyuubi... but at the same time, I am also the Yondaime Hokage, Kazama Kayaku, the one who sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into your body. When I sealed the -NO QUESTIONS TILL THE END!" **Kyuubi's eyes flashed in anger as he caught Naruto about to say something... though the sudden loud roar and feeling of dread effectively shut Naruto up. **"Now then... When I sealed Kyuubi in you with the Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal), the sealing process took my soul as well. What generally is supposed to happen is the Shinigami (Death God) takes both the soul of the target and the soul of the user for itself... but since the Kyuubi was a demon lord, the Shinigami wouldn't have been able to handle the strain and Kyuubi would have been set free. As such, I altered the technique so the target gets sealed into a third party, namely you kit. What I didn't count on was my soul going along for the ride. Kinda like two different colors of paint, our two souls fused together when we got stuck in this prison inside of you. I tell ya kit, it took a LONG time for me to get used to one voice and single person pronouns again. So, here I am, my only contact with the outside world being your memories and dreams until you came along. NOW... any questions?"**_

_For once, Naruto was speechless. This was more of a shock than finding out he contained the Kyuubi from the traitor Mizuki! For a few moments, All Naruto could do was gape and try to take it all in. Finally, he swallowed and shook his head to clear it for a moment. Glancing up, he stared at the Yondaime/Kyuubi fusion before him right into his red, slitted eyes. "Where does this leave me?" At the kitsune's confused expression, Naruto frowned and crossed his arms, standing up straight in a show of spirit. "Okay, I get that you screwed up somehow and fused with the demon. So now you aren't just a demon and now I'm stuck with a dead Kage-demon in my belly. So what do I get out of this? The way I see it, it's all YOUR fault that the teachers at school would never teach me anything or help me, outside of Iruka-sensei! It's also cause of you parents won't let me near their kids, and none of the kids wanna play or spar with me! I want payback!"_

_It was the kitsune's turn to be speechless. Very few had the gall to stand up to the Yondaime Hokage like this, let alone the Kyuubi. For the former, it was simply because people respected him too much to argue much of anything save for those truly close to him... and for the latter it was simply because anyone who did usually died. **"What... would you have me do, kit?"** he finally asked, unsure as to what kind of reaction to have as of yet. Respect was one, though that was tempered by the fact that the boy may not have been so bold if he was in the Kyuubi's demonic form and the Seal was not in the way. Anger was another, but that was quickly quelled, stemming from only one side of the kitsune's duality. Amusement was fairly strong within him, since the boy reminded him so much of his former human... and even younger kitsune self. Finally, curiosity...for whatever the kit was about to ask for that could possibly make up for the pain his beloved village had done to the child was most likely going to be big. _

_Uzumaki Naruto's blue eyes shone with determination as he clenched his fists. "Train me. Help me kick the old man out of his office so I can be the next Hokage! Then... Then I'll show the village who is the strongest and best ninja in the entire world, and they'll HAVE to respect me then! Do whatever you can to teach me everything I need to know! THAT is the only way you can EVER pay me back for these past 12 years!"_

_The look of determination... the strong will...the fierceness in his voice and the dream he just admitted... It was all really too much. Smirking, Kazama Kyuubi Kayaku smiled and nodded, before throwing his head back in that deep, reverberating laugh of his, his tails spreading fully behind him like a preening peacock before he spread his hands wide and brought them together in a thundering clap. **"As Yondaime Hokage and as the Demon Lord Kyuubi, I give you, Uzumaki Naruto, my full support! I swear to you that I will train you in any way I can, and provide you with as much means to reaching your goal as possible! By my name, by my soul, and by my word it is done! And let me tell you kit... when a Hokage or a Kitsune give their word, they never go back on it. That is the way of a true leader! Now... get out of here kit... we have much to do and, tomorrow, you have your Team Sorting to go through tomorrow. We'll talk to Sarutobi-jiisan afterwards."** _And with that, Naruto vanished from the shared mind scape and slipped into a deep and peaceful rest... taking comfort in knowing that, as of tomorrow, he would be well on his way to his ultimate goal.

Next Time: Nightmares, Reflexes and Team Assignments

Author's Note: Well, how was that? This is my first Naruto fanfic, and this idea kept plaguing me after so many others. Pairings are kinda undecided at the moment, but we won't worry about that for now. Criticism and Commentary welcome! And please, give me questions and suggestions as well! Oh.. and seeking pre-readers as well! I'm thrusting this roughie out into the world and I want people to give me their two cents when I need it.

By the by.. according to Wikipedia, the Fourth's first name is Kayaku Since everyone likes to give him the last name Kazama or Uzumaki, I decided on Kazama. Thus, we have Triple-K sealed in Uzumaki and now things are just going to get INTERESTING! See you next time!

And those of you who are curious about my other fics... I'm still gonna do them! Please be patient with me!


	2. Nightmares, Reflexes and Team Assignment

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I really need a Disclaimer? Would I even need to WRITE fanfiction? NO! I'd make a series of alternate universe Manga and DVDs! If Tenchi can do it, why can't I! But no, I don't... so don't sue me, or else I'll gather the Nine Biju and bring Armageddon down on your sorry behinds!

**Nightmares, Reflexes and Team Assignments**

'It has been a while since I had this dream' _thought Naruto as he watched a younger version of himself running through a grassy field, chasing a wayward butterfly. It was a rather soothing scene really, with the wind blowing gently, as if trying to aid the young boy in halting the butterfly's progress. Just as the boy is about to catch it, he sees a small cabin off to one side, smoke rising from the chimney as a woman's voice, full of warmth and love, calls out from the window._

"_Naruto-chan! Time to come in for dinner!" _

"_Hai! Coming kaasan (mother)!" Leaving the butterfly alone, Naruto made his way to the cabin at a dead run, not wanting to be late. Reaching the door, he doesn't open it immediately... instead, he rests his hands against the wooden door and leans against it gently, pressing his ear to the surface to hear the voices inside. The door and the voices are always willed with warmth... the kind of warmth that could easily counteract the ice cold stares he got on a daily basis if it ever existed for him._

"_Moooooom..." whined a female voice, similar to the kind he used in his Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique) form. "When is that brat coming in? I wanna eat NOW!" He always wondered what it would have been like... an older sister to fight with or to teach him things... a mother to hug and to take away his pain with kisses like the other kids had._

"_Now now, don't call your younger brother a brat." said an eerily familiar male voice. It was strong and full of determination, and sounded like the kind of person who could have taught him and protected him from the harsh world outside. "You were just as excited as he was when you passed YOUR exams. You both do the Uzumaki Clan proud."_

"_Where IS that boy! It's time for dinner! Naruto-chan! Hurry up!" called the warm, female voice from before. Sighing, Naruto couldn't help himself as, with tears rolling down his cheeks, he pushed the door open... and revealed an empty house. No trace of the warmth he felt before was there... just chilling, heart-breaking lonliness. No sister to bother and play games with... no mother to hug him and make the pain go away with soothing words and kisses... no father to protect him from harm or be a role model for him... no one. Just as the sadness began to well up within him, a hand touched his shoulder, causing him to turn around and face the kitsune-form of the Yondaime._

"_**Kit... you aren't alone anymore."** He said softly.** "I'm here with you now kit... and whenever you want to talk, I'll be here. Now... wake up." **The kitsune was surprised when the young Dream-Naruto wrapped his little arms around his waist tightly... before vanishing all together. As the dreamscape around him slowly faded and the bars to his self-made prison revealed themselves once more, the Kyuubi sighed and shook his head. **"I'm sorry Naruto... On my honor, I will do my best to atone for my sins against you..."**_

* * *

Waking up, Naruto yawned and looked out his window. The sun had just started to rise and he felt more energized than ever before. Smiling softly, he lightly scratched his belly where the Seal was. "Thanks... Kitsukage..." he said softly. Since the one inside him was a fusion of the fox and the hero, he decided to call him by a different name altogether. 

"**_Kitsukage huh? Nice... it fits the new me."_** the kitsune's voice suddenly said out of nowhere, startling Naruto so much he fell out of bed.

"Ow... " Slowly sitting up, Naruto looked around cautiously, as if expecting his apartment to suddenly become that dank, dark sewer where the large cage was located. Not seeing anything of the sort, Naruto frowned and carefully stood up. "Oi... Yokodaime! Where are ya? Is this a dream or something?"

A deep, growling chuckle was heard when he asked this. Obviously the kitsune was amused. **_"Silly kit... I'm inside you as always. Since we made out deal, I was able to establish a bond between us that will allow us to communicate with each other. This way... I can help you with decisions and such, as well as coach you through training. If you need to talk to me, just think what you want to say, and I'll hear you. Understand?"_**

Inwardly, he wondered if becoming fused made the Kitsukage chatty, or if it was something his two personalities had in common. This earned him an undignified **_"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"_** followed by his own chuckles. Shaking his head, he began to clean himself up and prepare for his first dayas part of the Ninja force. After a brisk shower and a quick breakfast (which was made up of ramen and water, since his milk was expired), he quickly got dressed. Just as he placed his goggles on his forehead, he glanced at his dresser to spot his hitae-ate (forehead protector). Frowning, he looked from the protector to his goggles and back. Finally deciding on something, he gives a simple shrug and places the hitae-ate around his neck like a collar, unwilling to lose his trademark goggles just yet. Flashing himself a grin at a mirror, he nodded to himself before running out of his apartment and towards the Academy for the last time.

* * *

Naruto, by some stroke of luck, was early for the meeting at the Academy, and sat himself in his usual seat, arms folded on his desk so he could rest his head against them. With where he placed his new hitae-ate, no one could easily tell if he passed or not. _'Heh... it'll be great to surprise them!' _he thought as the other passing genin entered the room. With his head down, he really couldn't see who came in, though the lazy drawl of one Nara Shikamaru caused him to raise his head. When Naruto glanced at him, the kitsune within him gave him a good look over, taking in one of Naruto's possible teammates. 

_**"Hmmm... a Nara huh? He doesn't look like much... but then, most Naras don't. From what I recall from your memories kit, he doesn't do much, does he? Still... you gotta look underneath the underneath. The Nara Clan can manipulate shadows... using them to trap their opponents to dealing damage to them. They are also known for high intelligence and lazy personalities when it comes to the men. Keep your eye on that one in the future kit."**_

Naruto was impressed at what he was told and glanced at Shikamaru curiously, trying to see if the intelligence or shadow abilities were somehow visible. It wasn't until he saw Shikamaru's annoyed face that he realized that the boy had said something while the Kitsukage was talking. _'Uh.. help?'_

Giving a soft sigh, the fox shook his head. **_"He asked what you were doing here, since only graduates can attend the Explanatory Meeting for Team Sorting."_**

Sitting up straight, and giving mental thanks to his inner companion, Naruto grinned and unzipped his jacket halfway, letting the Nara boy get a good look at his new hitae-ate collar. "Hey, can't you see this? Starting today, I'm also a ninja!" he said with his trademark fox grin. "Geez... you'd think a genius would understand that!" Completely missing Shikamaru's look of surprise and suspicion, Naruto continued to go on about how good the hitae-ate looked on him and how he had difficulties choosing between goggles and the ninja mark before deciding on both.

Little did Naruto know, a white-eyed girl by the name of Hyuuga Hinata, a shy quiet girl with the most obvious infatuation with the fox boy, was currently touching her own hitae-ate that rest at the nape of her neck. She was happy he passed, of course, though as she looked (stared) at his hitae-ate, thoughts of 'fate' and 'destiny' started playing in her thoughts. _'N...Naruto-kun is wearing it the same way I am...' _she thought, blushing fiercely._ 'Could... could this be a sign that we are meant to be together?'_

While Hinata started drifting off into her own little world of Bishie Naruto and Princess Hinata, complete with sparkles, near kisses, and flower petals everywhere, the door to the classroom suddenly slammed open, admitting a pair of newly graduated kunoichi. Instead of looking at the disturbance immediately, Naruto felt a slight jolt as the fox tried to get his attention again.

**_"Hey kit... look around the classroom. I wanna take a look at all these hopefuls." _**Shrugging, Naruto began to do just that, occasionally stopping when the Yokodaime asked him to. Each time he stopped, the fox-formed Fourth would give slight information about the more prominent genin in the room. **_"Not a bad batch... An Aburame, an Inuzuka, a Hyuuga, the Nara kid from before, an Akamichi, the Uchiha kid next to you, a Yamanaka and, if I'm not mistaken, the pink-haired one is a Haruno. Not a bad bunch at all. I'll tell you bout the clans later if ya want kit... A few seem to be missing from the bunch, but then they are probably older or younger, so not a bad pick kit. By the way... the love of your life is glaring daggers at you."_** The last was said with a snicker as he jolted Naruto back to paying attention to the outside world.

While the Kitsukage was drawing his attention, Naruto's body had apparently been under auto-pilot, dodging grabbing attempts from Haruno Sakura in her effort to get him to move. At the moment, he was crouched on his desk, hand holding Sakura's and gripping firmly, stopping an attempt to punch him apparantly. There were looks of shocks on everyone's faces as he looked about, trying to figure out just WHAT happened. Suddenly, he felt a wave of killing intent comming from behind him. _'Wait.. the only person behind me is...' _Slowly turning around, he noticed that Uchiha Sasuke was sporting a mark on his face quite similar to the bottom of one of his sandals. The aura of killing intent was comming from him, quite obviously... and if looks could kill, Naruto would have been tortured and killed in ways that would have Morino Ibiki green with envy. Who Morino Ibiki was and what he would be envious of was completely lost to Naruto, the only thing he knew was that a.) The kitsukage had something to do with this, since he was laughing up a storm, b.) another wave of killing intent was comming from Sakura and the surrounding girls (sans Hinata), c.) If he didn't move right now, he would be one dead jinchuriki and d.) he STILL didn't know why people were staring at him, though he guessed it had to do with him somehow kicking Sasuke.

Muttering a silent prayer to whatever higher power may be watching, Naruto quickly leapt behind Sasuke, pushed him towards the shiocked girls, and did the only thing any other man in his situation would do... move to an easily defensible position and cower in fear. As such, he bolted right to the last row, sitting right next to a blushing Hinata, and ducked under the desk while the horde of girls swarmed around Sasuke to make sure he wasn't hurt badly.

* * *

In the Hokage Tower, a group of Jounin were watching the scene unfolding in the classroom through the Hokage's crystal ball. Many were in shock, others were angry... and a small amount were actually impressed. At first, they were all interested in Uchiha Sasuke, the Rookie of the Year... but the events of the last few moments were just too unbeleivable for anyone to focus on him completely. 

The ones who were impressed were the Hokage and two jounin by the names of Yuuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma... while the one who was shocked as the jounin who specifically asked for the Uchiha heir, one Hatake Kakashi. A majority of the other jounin were the ones who were angry that the 'demon brat' kicked the Uchiha heir, even more were inwardly complaining about the decision about making him a ninja. The atmosphere of the room was broken as the Hokage chuckled heartily. "As usual, Naruto is being the center of trouble." Slowly standing, the Hokage looked at the gathered Jounin and smiled. "I have called you all here because I plan on doing something different with this batch of Genin... Walk with me as we go to the Academy. I have already spoken with Iruka-kun about my idea and he agreed to alter a few of the teams... now then..."

As everyone filed out behind the Hokage, Kurenai glanced back at the crystal ball and smiled softly. "Uzumaki Naruto, hmm?" Shaking her head, she followed after the group, not wanting to be left behind.

* * *

Iruka had finally arrived, saving Sasuke from the horde of fangirls that were fawning over him, saying things like "Don't worry Sasuke-kun! It was only a lucky shot!" and "You can kick his ass next time Sasuke-kun!" As everyone took their seats, with Sakura and Ino both claiming the seats on either side of the Uchiha, Sasuke inwardly began to plot his revenge on the dead last in the class. Not just for the kick in the face.. oh no. After all, it WAS only a lucky shot, it wasn't like a nobody like Uzumaki Naruto could actually be a challenge to the Uchiha heir, right? No... if it was just that, he'd merely beat the crap out of the orange-clad boy and be done with it. What had Sasuke's teeth grinding was the fact that he had ALLOWED the boy to shove him into the vicious jaws of his fanclub! 

It was his second-to-worst nightmare.

"Starting today, you are all official ninjas, but you are all still new Genins." Looking around the class to make sure he had everyone's attention, Iruka allowed himself to smile softly, before looking up to where Naruto was sitting. With how he held himself, it still looked like he was looking at the class as a whole... but Naruto felt as if his favorite teacher were singling him out. "It's only going to get harder from here."

Determined to not let his sensei down, Naruto sat upright, lightly rubbing the hitae-ate at his neck with pride. _'I'll make sure Iruka-sensei is proud of me.'_

Happy that Naruto seemed to be paying attention for once, Iruka once again allowed his gaze to drift throughout the faces of his students. "You all will be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions and train under Jounin teachers." This news brought some looks of surprise throughout the class as people began to wonder who their teammates would be. Unsurprisingly, a majority of the girls save for Hinata began to hope for Sasuke, a majority of the guys including Naruto were hoping for anyone BUT Sasuke, and the Uchiha in question was thinking of how anyone else would be a burden to him... though if Uzumaki ended up with him, he would easily be able to exact his revenge AND put the idiot in his place. With Sasuke between them, Sakura and Ino were only capable of glaring at eachother as they silently wished for Sasuke to be on THEIR team.

"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities and potential shall be brought about by not only your teammates, but by your instructors as well. The way we are doing it is different from the past few years, but then the Hokage himself asked for this line-up. If anyoen has any complaints.. well.. I'm sure Hokage-sama will be able to answer any doubts you may have as long as it is within reason." The very thought of asking the Hokage to change anything like team arrangements was ludicrous to almost everyone in the room... save for the one person who actually called the Sandaime Hokage 'Old Man' to his face. "I will now announce the teams!"

Time passed as group of three after group of three were called. Naruto would have blocked everything out by now, were it not for the Kitsukage within him forcing him to listen. **_"After all"_** the fox formed Fourth reasoned, **_"you might find yourself in a position where you need to work with one of these teams in a joint mission. It will pay to know who gets placed where."_**

"Team 7: Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke." To this, Shino merely arched a brow, Sasuke stayed emotionless, and Sakura found herself torn between celebrating and rubbing it in Ino's face, to being creeped out by being teamed up with the 'Bug Boy'. Naruto himself was also torn.. between celebrating the fact that he wasn't with Sasuke, to mourning the fact that Sakura WAS with Sasuke. He began to feel pity as well, though this was towards the Aburame. _'I hope you get along better with Sasuke-teme than I would'_

"Team 8: Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto." Now, for the first team, Ino was actually releived. Why you ask? Simple.. she wasn't really a Sasuke-fan. The only reason why she competed with her childhood friend was to give her confidence to act. Now, though, she found herself in shock. She was stuck in a team with two of the loudest ninja in the class! Oddly enough... this thought was echoed by Naruto and Kiba both as all three stood up at once, slamming their hands on the desks in unison as they glared at Iruka. "WHAT! WHY AM I STUCK WITH THOSE TWO LOUDMOUTHS!" they shouted at once. Blinking, they all turned towards the others and glared.

"Again.. if you have problems, take it up with Hokage-sama. He himself suggested this line up, and I agreed with him." said Iruka simply. Unable to fight against that, but still upset, all three loud ninjas sat back down with a collective "HMPH!" doing their best to ignore eachother. Sakura found herself feeling smug since Ino got stuck with the idiot known as Naruto... while Hinata felt upset and disappointed that she and Naruto were not in the same team. The ninth group was called while the newly appointed Team 8 bemoaned their bad luck to be stuck with eachother. Finally, Iruka looked up from his list to announce the final group.

"Team 10: Hyuuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji." Hinata blinked and looked towards her new partners. Shikamaru actually thought his group wasn't too 'troublesome' while nearby, Chouji continued to eat his potato chips. Ino actually counted her lucky stars that she wasn't stuck with the lazy bum and childhood friend Shikamaru, though she did start feeling sorry for the Hyuuga heir. _'Poor girl... I hope they don't drag her down too much.'_

"That is all. I will introduce you to your sensei in the afternoon. You are dismissed until then! I suggest you take this time to get to know your new team." With that, Iruka walked towards his desk, gathered his papers, and left the classroom to meet with the new instructors.

As soon as Iruka left, a majority of the class began to gather in their new groups and started leaving the classroom to enjoy the new day.

* * *

The newly christened Team 8 currently sat on one of the many balconies of the school, enjoying both the sunny weather and their lunches, chatting happily to each other and bonding as a good team should, smiling in the bonds of new found comraderie. Meanwhile, Sasuke was smiling happily and professing his love to Sakura, only to have Shino shout angrily that HE wanted Sakura and challenged Sasuke to a duel right there, Hinata came into Team 8's group hug to pull Naruto away and give him a big kiss on the lips, Shikamaru decided to train hard and Chouji decided to go on a diet. 

In short? Team 8 was doing anything BUT chatting happily and enjoying their lunches.

In fact.. the only one eating a lunch was Kiba, who had four onigiri (riceballs) in his lunch box. Apparantly, Ino only had a bottle of water and Naruto forgot to bring a lunch that morning. Shaking his head, Kiba held out the lunch box towards his the two blondes. At first, they refused, Ino claiming to be on a diet and Naruto being too prideful... but, of course, the growling stomachs of the two blondes spoke a far greater truth and they gave in.

"Oi, Naruto!" said Kiba after a while, who watched as Ino ate her riceball daintily while the goggle-headed boy wolfed his down like a starving animal. "How the hell did you manage to get that kick into Sasuke-teme's face? I mean... ya never did anything that cool during taijutsu class!" Kiba was impressed to say the least. Sasuke, the untouchable Uchiha, Number One Rookie... kicked in the face by the Dead Last. Ino also looked interested, absently rubbing her forearm from when Naruto smacked it away.

Naruto blinked and was at a loss. He didn't remember ANYTHING like that. _'Oi... um... Kitsukage? What DID happen?All I remember is looking around for you, then all of a sudden Sasuke wants to kill me and the girls want to rip me to shreds!'_

Instead of answering, the Kitsukage let the memories of the event, which he remembered to the last detail wash over Naruto. Both Kiba and Ino watched as Naruto's face went through a very interesting change of emotions. Shock, worry, victory... then horror. Looking to his teammates, Naruto scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "Um... reflex?"

Any and all respect and awe for the foxboy flew right out the window as Ino and Kiba facefaulted. Ino was the first to get up, growling with a clenched fist while an aura of killing intent surrounded her. "Na... ru... TO!" she growled, imagining all the different ways she would make him pay for his stupidity. Her violent thoughts (and Naruto's subsequent fear of being beaten down) were interrupted as she heard something odd. The sound was comming from Kiba, who was still face down on the floor... only now he was... trembling. At first, it sounded like he was choking or gagging... but when Kiba finally rolled over, his hood slipping from his wild brown hair, it revealed the tattoo-faced boy was laughing so hard, tears were flowing down his face.

"He.. He hit Uchiha on REFLEX! Sasuke'll never live it down if he ever finds out!" By now, the dog boy was clutching his sides as he howled in laughter. At first, Ino just looked at Kiba like he was crazy... but slowly, as the thoughts of how the brooding Uchiha would react to the information began to cross her mind, she couldn't help but smirk. The smirk soon evolved into a smile, then the smile soon turned to full, blown-out laughter as she joined Kiba on the ground, clutching her sides to keep them from bursting. Both were soon followed by Naruto, who easily succumbed to the gales of laughter at the thoughts of Sasuke's indignant and kick-marked face... and inwardly, he began to feel the warmth that he had only dreamed about.

_'You're right Kitsukage... I'm not alone. Not now... and hopefully, not for a long time...'_ And the kitsune within Naruto merely smiled as dark, dank sewer that represented the area outside his cage began to get brighter. Turning back to his viewscreen, Kazama Kyuubi Kayaku grinned a very familiar foxy grin and snapped his clawed fingers, causing the laughing scene to rewind back to when Naruto was listening to him and not paying attention in the classroom. Sitting on the ground, the Yokodaime began to chuckle at the antics his new charge did without realizing. _**"I'll be using these images for entertainment for a good while"** _he said to himself as he began to laugh once more at a few of the funnier scenes.

* * *

Wondering what happened in the classroom? Let's recap... 

While Naruto was looking around the classroom, listening to the fox within him labeling each one briefly, his body went into a kind of auto-pilot, his eyes seeming to grow dull as he turned his attention inward. While this was going on, Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, the two kunoichi who entered at the same time, began arguing about who came in first. The arguement lasted for only a few short sentences until Sakura spotted the boy of her dreams, the brooding Uchiha Sasuke. From there, she had gone down to sit next to him in order to claim her prize as being first in the class (despite the fact that other kunoichi were there before her). Unfortunately, the glassy eyed Naruto was in her way, but then it would be easy to push him out of the way if he wasn't paying attention, right?

This, my friends... is where things got weird.

As she reached out to grab his shoulder and shove him out of the way, Naruto's hanxd reflexively went up and slapped her arm away. Not hard, just enough to shock her out of her Sasuke Tunnel Vision. That caused a few eyebrows to go up, since anyone who wasn't deaf or brain damaged had heard Naruto claim his undying love for the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Naruto!" cried Ino as she stomped down the stairs to stand by her best friend/rival/neighbor. "You can't do that to Sakura!" A majority of the girls agreed as they grouped behind the two, glaring at Naruto as Sakura rubbed her arm. The glare wasn't working of course, since Naruto was lost in his thoughts. "Oi! Naruto! Pay attention!" By this time, Naruto turned his head away to face someone else. "NARUTO!" Angry, and slightly worried about Naruto's behavior, Ino tried to shake his shoulder to wake him up... only to have her own hand batted away in reflex. Visibly stunned, Ino began to rub her forearm gently as she looked at Naruto in shock.

"Oi.. Dobe... what are you staring at?" came Sasuke's voice. Everyone noticed that he was looking blankly at the Uchiha this time, causing the normally withdrawn boy to glare back. At this point, Sakura became fed up and tried to punch the fox boy, only to have her hand slapped away harder than last time, causing her fist to his the table at a bad angle. She didn't break anything, but it would leave a bruise, and it caused her to cry out in shock

At this point, Sasuke stood up and threw his own punch at the blond idiot, following through with the ease and grace that allowed him to be the Rookie of the Year. The only problem with this is that Naruto had leapt straight up, his foot lashing out at Sasuke's face so quickly that he didn't have time to dodge, sending the Uchiha flying back out of the row and onto the floor, before landing on the desk in a crouch.

Angry at the fact that Naruto was ignoring them AND had dared to kick her precious Sasuke-kun in the face, Sakura drew back her other hand to punch Naruto with all her might.. only to have her fist caught in the palm of his hand, his fingers clenching around the fist to slowly add pressure to it. It was at this point Naruto came back to reality.

End Recap

* * *

**Next Time: Team Loud! The Dog, The Boar, The Fox and the Beast!**

**Author's Note:** Well. .this was one of my longer chapters! It didn't drag on, did it? I know I skipped the entire Konohamaru thing, but that's only cause I wouldn't have changed a thing. Anyway, i may make this NaruxIno.. I might not. Again, Pairings aren't really important to me at this point in time, though I am open to suggestions. C&C always welcome! Questions and suggestions as well! Oh, and to those making mentions of Naruto's father's name? I like Kayaku myself. Arashi is all well and good.. but, like.. alot of people use it. That, and Kazama Kayaku flows better to me .

As for the nicknames... Kitsukage doesn't really mean anything, just a combination of Kitsune and Hokage. The same is said for Yoko (fox) and Yondaime. Since Naruto loves giving nicknames, i figured these would be good

Hehehe.. anyway, I hope you guys like these teams.. they'll become even more interesting soon. What plans do the Hokage and Iruka have? What changes shall Windfalcon bring to the Naruto-verse with these changes? What is the deal with Naruto's 'reflexes'? And WHEN will training begin for Naruto? All this and more in the next installment!


End file.
